Insurance Journal Negligence or Medical Negligence? Florida Supreme Court Offers Clarity By Janice L. Merrill June 6, 2018 Whether a claim arises out of medical negligence and is subject to the presuit screening requirements of Chapter 766 of the Florida Statutes is a question legal practitioners and courts alike have struggled with for years. In April 2018, the Florida Supreme …

Position Statement on Mental Health Interpreting Services with People who are Deaf The purpose of this position statement is to acknowledge and emphasize the importance and need for specialized sign language interpreting services in the delivery of mental health services to deaf individuals. While direct mental health services are optimal and always preferred, such services are not always available. When …

Family Members are not Interpreters: In the news recently, the Tennessee House and Senate are considering a controversial bill (SB0594 and HB0672) that could impact how investigators communicate with Deaf children who may have experienced domestic abuse or child abuse. At first glance, the bill appears well-intentioned. The intention is to ensure that in abuse cases, family members do not …

Another victory: This is great news for Deaf Missourians! Once again, however, it is important to note that the issue is not just access to services via interpreters in mental health settings, but access to Deaf counselors, therapists, social workers and psychologists. The majority of Deaf people seeking mental health services want to work with Deaf professionals and receive services …

As many of you already know, Deaf counselors are few and far between. The reason for this, in part, may be due to the fact that the national licensure exam for counselors is largely English-centric. Below, we are reprinting a letter from a Deaf lawyer, who is working to rectify the situation, and hopefully, enable more Deaf counselors to obtain …

Daphne Wright Trial: The recent Daphne Wright trial has brought the issue of the death penalty to the forefront of the Deaf community, igniting many debates both in favor of, and against, the appropriateness of this particular form of punishment. Without going into discussion of whether or not the Wright trial itself was a fair one, considering that Wright, a …

Guilt Defined: Guilt is usually described as “the sense of right or wrong”. As an emotion, it suggests conscience – that little angel sitting on your shoulder – and remorse. On the one hand, we feel guilty when we do something we think we shouldn’t have done; on the other hand, we feel guilty when we don’t do something we …

No Boarding Pass for You: If you’re a Deaf traveler flying on your own in Thailand anytime soon, Thai AirAsia will not let you aboard. Just this week, the airline announced that anyone who is Deaf, blind, or has a disability cannot fly unaccompanied on any of its planes within the country. Officials explained that because they are a budget …

Less Stress = Better Health: Good news from the Department of Justice. Laurel Regional Hospital in Maryland just signed a consent decree in which it agreed to comply with the ADA by providing interpreters to all patients and their families or companions. The hospital was sued by a group of Deaf people whose interpreting requests were not accommodated. The decree …